Wednesday, October 24, 2012

American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodard

Less than half way through. Eye opening. The character of our nation (and the nations of Mexico and Canada) is deceptively simple, if you only look at state lines and stereotypical regions. Of course, this coming from someone that did not know that his dad grew up in Appalachia (I thought southeastern Ohio had character enough).

So far, I identify the most the "Greater Appalachia," which I happen to live in.

I've read - a couple times - The Nine Nations of North America by Joel Garreau. It was a great read, but it was a snapshot of the area set - by default - in the late 1970s. Colin Woodard was right that the historical context of these "nations" is so informative, and that is what makes (so far) American Nations so compelling.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

I've described myself as a libertarian, classical liberal, even an anarcho-capitalist. All those terms seem defined by their context. Even taking anarcho-capitalist to its core, its larger category of anarchist leaves one defined by a context and not what is inherent to the person. Anarchy literally means "without a ruler." (Wikipedia.org)

The concept of liberty is lacking. It sounds like you are being allowed to do something. Freedom seems more universal, less defined by a person's environment - more inherent. I've been frustrated by a lack of analysis or dialogue until I found this:

One might ask how [the] tyrannical society [of the indenture-servitude and slavery based mid-Atlantic] could have produced some of the greatest champions of republicanism, such as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and James Madison. The answer is that Tidewater's gentry embraced classical republicanism, meaning a republic modeled after those of ancient Greece and Rome. They emulated the learned, slave-holding elite of ancient Athens, basing their enlightened political philosophies around the ancient Latin concept of libertas, or liberty. This was a fundamentally different notion from the Germanic concept of Freiheit, or freedom, which informed the political thought of Yankeedom [New England] and the Midlands. Understanding the distinction is essential to comprehending the fundamental disagreements that still plague relations between Tidewater [mid-Atlantic], the Deep South, and New Spain on one hand and Yankeedom and the Midlands on the other.

American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North American by Colin Woodard

And of course, once my mind was more open to the conflict, I ran across this: "Freedom vs. Liberty" by Joseph R. Stromberg on LewRockwell.com. This article goes into the etymology of the two terms. And Stromberg comes to a similar conclusion that I did, that "'freedom' seems a bit more world-bound or concrete than 'liberty.'"

Being on the freedom end of the political spectrum leaves one, as a matter of convenience, defined a libertarian or anarchist, or possibly a sovereign individualist. Is there a label or philosophy that is more concrete? Freedomer? Freedom lover? Well, the philosophy is freedom. That's simple. But what do you call the adherent? Freeman? Freewoman? Freeone? Freeneck? Freedomer?

The single-action on my Ruger P95 is troublesome. Since, even with a Bell grip sleeve, I still have trouble maintaining my grip, especially, I've recently realized, when my pistol goes single action. Well, I've considered a stronger spring, but I don't know if it would just destroy the feel of the double-action trigger. I like a double-action trigger, for carry, and I can deal with the transition if it doesn't affect my grip. And holding my finger on the trigger shouldn't be part of my grip.

Well, I'm not giving up on the P95 - just interested in alternatives.

And why not have a consistent trigger? Almost all striker-fired pistols have them, so why not one of them? Well, I still like having a pistol sitting in a holster with a long trigger pull, since I don't want to depend on a safety. Like Gaston Glock found through research, safeties cause accidental discharges, because the user has to know what condition the gun is in - cocked, decocked, on safe (Glock: The Rise of America's Gun, Paul M. Barrett). Well, I'm back to wanting a long trigger for carry. Revolvers are great for that, but I like semi autos too, so ...

Used to, there seemed to be more choices for real DAOs. Ruger made a DAO P95. Some say it was done just as special order items for government agencies like the Federal Bureau of Prisons, but I don't remember it that way. And there were Smith & Wessons. They seemed to be a compromise in the transition from revolvers to semi autos for police departments; a transition that was largely trumped by the entrance of Glock into the U.S. police-weapons market.

I'm interested in Kahrs - might end up with a CW9 or CW40 - but they are not true DAOs. Movement of the slide initiates the cocking of the striker, and pulling trigger finishes the cocking. That is something that, if I am correct, Glock does too, but with a single-action like trigger feel.

So what does this all come from and lead to?
Well, I already was interested in the P250 SUM2 truly modular concept. But now I'm interested in the plain old true DAO trigger, where that was a deal breaker in the past.

Also, in a round about way, the search for info about the SIG P250 led me to the Gun Guys Radio podcast - a truly listen-worthy podcast. And it gave a me a chance to put a smile on someones face. If you want to find out how, then listen at 1:12:55 of their 031 GGR – Cowboy Up! with Evil Roy & Randi Rogers episode.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Yes, I own one, so I am happy about its inclusion in Guns & Ammo's list. But as an out of the box carry gun, or duty gun, I think, depending on your hand-size, that one of the other suggestions would do you better. If you can grab it with a vice-like grip and still pull the trigger, then you're good to go. If you can splurge for a bicycle-inner-tube grip sleeve, then you're good to go. But if you don't want to fiddle, or actually do modifications, then possibly you should look further.

The S&W SD40 and FMK 9C1 seem to have a leg up on the Ruger P95 as far as grip ergonomics go. I've heard crappy things about the S&W SD-series' crappy trigger, but I've never shot it. I haven't heard a thing about the FMK 9C1. So I want to try both of them.